


The Memory Remains

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Spoilers, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-17
Updated: 2012-11-17
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“The man who saved my life, who helped me become the man I am today, he was forgotten.  He was forgotten by me.  That might be the biggest sin of all.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Memory Remains

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 8x07, THE FALLEN.

“Knock, knock.” Erin poked her head into the office.

“Hi.” Dave looked up from his computer.

“It’s time to go home.”

“I've just finished it.”

“The dedication page?” Erin asked. She came into his office and closed the door.

“I usually don’t see the point of these kinds of things. This time…”

“Amanda will be pleased.”

“Amanda will be off my ass, which is always a good thing.”

“No comment.” Erin shook her head. She wasn’t overly fond of Amanda but couldn’t deny that the woman was good at her job. That was probably the same way people felt about her. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

Dave nodded. He made sure the email to the editor was sent, saved his work, and shut down his computer. He grabbed a couple of case files and threw them in his soft briefcase. Then he stood up from the chair.

“I dedicated my first novel to you.” he said.

“No, you dedicated it to Blythe Dresden.”

“That’s not how it went. Do you see how you treat me…it was much more than that. It said ‘to the real life Blythe Dresden and Kip Holden, who opened the paths to friendship and love.’” Dave tapped his head. “This is a steel trap.”

“Again I say no comment. I had to share the spotlight with Aaron Hotchner...the story of my life with you.”

“You're so beautiful when you pout.”

“Shut up.”

“Let’s stop and get dinner. I'm starving.”

“Are you alright, Rossi?” Erin asked as he came around his desk. She walked into his open arms. “You haven’t quite been yourself since coming home from Santa Monica.”

“I'm feeling pretty good at the moment.” he inhaled the scent of her skin.

“Does that mean that you don’t want to talk about it?”

“I ran into someone I used to know.”

“An old lover?” Erin asked.

“No ma'am.” Dave pulled away a bit. He tilted her chin up and looked into Erin’s eyes. He wanted to tell her how beautiful her eyes were. It wasn’t necessary; he did it all the time. Dave used her lips to kiss her instead. “It was a Marine from Vietnam actually.”

“Seriously?” the answer surprised Erin.

Even though they didn’t want to, the couple separated to leave his office. Nearly the entire Bureau knew they were married but that didn’t mean they would run around flaunting it. There were rules and propriety after all…she was his boss.

“Goodnight.” Dave said to Alex and JJ as they walked by. The two women were chatting by Alex’s desk.

“Goodnight Dave.” They said in unison.

“Goodnight, ma'am.” JJ said to Erin.

“Goodnight, Agent Jareau; Agent Blake.”

“Goodnight.” Alex replied.

Erin slipped her hand in Dave’s, she didn’t even care anymore. The thing with Alex was something she could apologize for a million times and it wouldn’t change. She would focus on today and tomorrow instead…yesterday’s mistakes had already been made.

“Agent Strauss, are you being frisky?” Dave asked, managing a smile for her as he pushed down at the elevator.

“Agent Strauss would never do something like that. Mrs. Rossi on the other hand missed her husband very much. Being alone isn’t always easy.”

“My former dog didn’t warm you up?” Dave asked. They walked onto the elevator and the door closed in front of them.

“Your former dog?” Erin raised her eyebrow.

“He belongs to you now. I still love him, and I think he loves me, but Mudgie is a turncoat.”

“He definitely keeps the bed warm. But if I keep having conversations with the dog they might have to commit me.”

Dave smiled. She let his hand go as they entered the lobby. After signing out, the couple went out to the parking lot. Erin wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck. Nights in the Corridor were getting colder.

“My sergeant from Vietnam was homeless, baby.” He looked at her while she took the keys from her purse. “He's living on the street and the Unsub went after him and the people he cares about.”

“Was he targeted?” Erin asked.

“The homeless were targeted so yes he was. And then the Unsub went after him because he hurt him. The bastard didn’t care about Scott’s years of service to his country. He just wanted to rid the world of a scourge.”

“Is that the word he used?” Erin unlocked her BMW with her keyless entry button. Dave climbed into the passenger side. 

“That’s the word he used.” He said once she got into the car. He hadn't been driving much lately. Maybe he would just take a long drive through the Virginia back roads before going back to California early next week. “I do my best, we all do, to keep emotional distance from the cases…”

“You know it’s not always possible.” She shook her head. Erin turned down Elton John when she started the ignition. “I can imagine it’s more difficult when there's a personal connection involved. I'm thankful that it doesn’t happen more often. Is your friend alright?”

“I hope he will be. I keep trying to…I don’t want to say I'm trying to forget about it because I'm not. So many good things have happened to me, Erin.”

“Bad things have happened too. But I know what you mean.”

“The man who saved my life, who helped me become the man I am today, he was forgotten. He was forgotten by me. That might be the biggest sin of all.”

“It’s not your fault. I'm sure Sergeant Scott doesn’t blame you.” Erin put her hand on his shoulder. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

“It just makes me wonder how many of the other guys I walked through those jungles with fell on bad times.”

“Too many of our vets, particularly in the Vietnam era, came home addicted, sick, and ignored. It’s not a moment we’re proud of but now it’s difficult to find them all.”

“Yeah.” Dave nodded, looking out the window. His mind was spinning in a million different directions. One moment he was a fresh faced kid in the jungle and the next he was a grizzled BAU agent. The dreams had come back, some of them nightmares. Dave was seeing the bodies again. He was dreaming of burning villages and screaming people. 

He was remembering waking up in the hospital wondering if the other guys in his unit were going to make it home. There were so many things he wanted to open his mouth and say but there were no words. The man who made words for a living, made the most unfathomable situations make some kind of sense, couldn’t articulate what he was feeling. One thing he could feel was Erin’s concern. It was nearly palpable. “I'm OK.”

“Bullshit. You never have to tell me that if it’s not true. We don’t play that game, David.”

“I don’t think I'm hungry.”

“Its alright…I already had dinner. You want to go home and have a bath?”

“Are you coming with me, Mrs. Rossi?” he managed a little smile.

“I’ll wash your back. First I’ll make you a glass of scotch, then I’ll run you a hot bath, and then I’ll wash your back.”

“And then…”

“And then maybe you’ll sleep for an entire night. Just because we’re on separate coasts doesn’t mean I can't read you like a book.”

“You're a scary woman, Erin Strauss.”

“I've been perfecting it for a while now.” she replied smiling. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby; and I could use a full night’s sleep.”

“We’ll just have to do what's necessary to get you there.”

“The little purple negligee would probably work beautifully.” He said.

“I need you to focus Rossi.”

“Believe me, I'm focused. The hard stuff is done and there are more hard things to come. The purple negligee is the perfect place to end this night.”

Erin shook her head, smiling as she drove. If he wanted the purple negligee she could make that happen. All she wanted was for Dave to be alright. While they’d known each other a long time, Erin was aware there were doors she hadn't walked into yet. 

There had been highs, lows, and the jungles of Vietnam. Erin didn’t know if they even had the time for her to know his entire story. He surely didn’t know hers. That didn’t matter. When he hurt, she hurt, and Erin Strauss was a fixer. 

The size of the problem didn’t matter when she loved someone as much as she loved Dave. He was a fixer as well; there were times when their intentions clashed. But Dave would put his all into helping Sergeant Scott and she would put her all into helping her husband. They would all endure this latest storm.

***


End file.
